Just go run a practice sim with 5 bill russells against 5 will bynums and see if that is true. My guess is the programmers were over generous in giving the old timers stats that make them more competitive against modern players than they really would be (for entertainment purposes).

Just go run a practice sim with 5 bill russells against 5 will bynums and see if that is true. My guess is the programmers were over generous in giving the old timers stats that make them more competitive against modern players than they really would be (for entertainment purposes).

Yeah, I just tried it too. In my matchup of the '62 Celts against the '12 Pistons, Russell had 18 points, 29 rebs, 9 assists, and 5 blocked shots.

I think the sim is giving too much credit to the older guys. You're telling me Maxiell wouldn't have a field day rattling in 15' J's against old man Russell?... Players like Maxiell, Singler, and Jerebko are just a different breed. They are carefully selected for their hamstring flexibility and are trained the most modern techniques from coaches like Tablecloth, Kuester, and Lawrence Frank.

Now, blue, let's consider the matchups: Hakeem vs Walton: Walton is listed at 6'11" although most analysts say he was actually 7' 2". He was, when healthy, the defensive equal of Bill Russell. Great shot blocker, great instincts, great rebounder, and scorer. (Check out Wikipedia). Great post passer. (incidentally, he listed as the greatest college player in the history of basketball). He'll shutdown Russell completely or cause Hakeem big problems. Russell vs Hayes: Elvin Hayes was a prolific scorer and great rebounder.(Check out Wikipedia). He'll cause Russell fits. DeBusschere vs Pipen or Gervin: DeBusschere was a 6 time All-Defensive first teamer, as well as a good scorer. He'll completely shut down either Pipen or Gervin, and he'll give LBJ, Durant, and anyone else like that big, big problems. He also was named coach at the age of 24. He's got bit-time smarts. Havlichek vs Gervin, or West, or Wade, or MJ, or ... you get the idea. One of the greatest defenders in NBA history. (check out Wikipedia). Also a great scorer (29 per game one season) and a really clutch performer. Put him on the court with Walton and DeBusschere, and the other team will never get to 70. Cousy or Maravich vs Iverson: Those guys will go through AI like a hot knife through butter. His jock will be hanging out for all to see. Cousy was great passer and distributor as well as a good scorer. He was Magic, before Magic, or Nash, or Stockton, or ... you get the idea. I've got lights out scoring, rebounding, and a completely shutdown defense. I'm getting off the bus with the best team!!!

Now, blue, let's consider the matchups: Hakeem vs Walton: Walton is listed at 6'11" although most analysts say he was actually 7' 2". He was, when healthy, the defensive equal of Bill Russell. Great shot blocker, great instincts, great rebounder, and scorer. (Check out Wikipedia). Great post passer. (incidentally, he listed as the greatest college player in the history of basketball). He'll shutdown Russell completely or cause Hakeem big problems. Russell vs Hayes: Elvin Hayes was a prolific scorer and great rebounder.(Check out Wikipedia). He'll cause Russell fits. DeBusschere vs Pipen or Gervin: DeBusschere was a 6 time All-Defensive first teamer, as well as a good scorer. He'll completely shut down either Pipen or Gervin, and he'll give LBJ, Durant, and anyone else like that big, big problems. He also was named coach at the age of 24. He's got bit-time smarts. Havlichek vs Gervin, or West, or Wade, or MJ, or ... you get the idea. One of the greatest defenders in NBA history. (check out Wikipedia). Also a great scorer (29 per game one season) and a really clutch performer. Put him on the court with Walton and DeBusschere, and the other team will never get to 70. Cousy or Maravich vs Iverson: Those guys will go through AI like a hot knife through butter. His jock will be hanging out for all to see. Cousy was great passer and distributor as well as a good scorer. He was Magic, before Magic, or Nash, or Stockton, or ... you get the idea. I've got lights out scoring, rebounding, and a completely shutdown defense. I'm getting off the bus with the best team!!!

This is, without a doubt, one of the most ridiculous posts in the history of this board.

1) Why was Walton listed three inches shorter than he actually was? By every listing everyone in the world has ever seen aside from you? Unfortunately, your wild imagination will have as much to do with the simulator as it does with anything else.

2) The defensive equivalent of Bill Russell!?!? lol. No one was the defensive equivalent of Bill Russell. Especially not Bill Walton!? Some moderately athletic skinny white dude with no muscle?? Ok. Wilt's probably as close as it gets. And he's not even that close.

3) He was a great passer, but compared to the other bigs in these simulations, Walton's average to below average in the other categories.

4) Where on earth is Bill Walton listed as the top player in the history of college basketball!?! lol. I think I saw him ranked as like 47th on CBS this weekend lol.

5) He might be able to shut down Russell in the post - as many could - but he's got no chance against Hakeem. Hakeem's got 40lbs on him, a lot of strength, a lot of athleticism, the best post moves in the history of the game, perhaps the most talented low-post scorer in the history of the game along with Wilt and Shaq.

6) Russell had no problems stopping the best low-post scorer in the game's history, Wilt, he'd laugh at an Elvin Hayes. Hakeem's probably the third best low-post defender in the game's history behind Russell and Wilt. He's going to laugh at Walton or Hayes as well.

7) I think you're all alone on this planet with your valuation of Dave DeBusschere.

8) Likewise with Havlicek. Have you ever seen pictures of these guys!? lol.

9) I guess you've never seen a picture of Cousy or Maravich either lol. And you forgot that Jerry West is in my starting lineup.

If only the simulator was determined by your delusions lol. Game's changed guy. World records are broken every Olympics.

I thought Woody made a great post. You cannot compare Googled black and white pictures of guys from yesteryear to YouTube dunk montage videos of today's superstars. Of course, it's apples to oranges. I think what you can do, as Woody was doing, was compare players to the peers of their era. Pete Maravich and Bob Cousy, for example, were more dominant in their time than Allen Iverson was.